Book Review: U.S.S.R. and Eastern Europe: How the Communist Press Works, Communist Propaganda Techniques
| DOI | 10.1177/002070206502000432 |
| Date | 01 December 1965 |
| Author | Henry W. Morton |
| Published date | 01 December 1965 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
BOOK
REVIEWS
561
ideological
foundations
of
the
Soviet Union's
anti-Western
foreign
policy.
He
makes
several suggestions
for
concessions
which
might
improve
the
Soviet
image
of
the
United
Nations.
But
if,
as
he
also
maintains,
Soviet
ideology
persists
unchanged and
strengthened
by
success,
what
hope
is
there
that
minor
concessions
will
lead
to
any
major
change
in
policy?
University
of
Toronto
STEPHEN
CLARKSON
HOW
THE
COMMUNIST
PRESS WORKS.
By
Antony
Buzek.
1964.
(New York:
Frederick
A.
Praeger.
Toronto:
Burns
&
MacEachern.
287pp.
$9.25)
COMMUNIST
PROPAGANDA
TECHNIQUES.
By
John
C.
Clews.
1964.
(New
York:
Frederick
A.
Praeger.
Toronto:
Ryerson.
326pp.
$8.00)
Every
Saturday,
late
in
the afternoon,
two
of
the
longest
lines
in
Moscow
form
in
front
of
the
small
newspaper
kiosk
on
Maiakovskii
Square, the
only spot
where
issues of
Nedelia
(The
Week),
a
Sunday
supplement
of
Izvestia,
are
easily
accessible.
Also
at
a
premium
in
the
capital
are
Izvestia,
Vecherniia Moskva
(The Evening
Moscow),
and
Sovetskii
Sport.
After
several
vain
attempts
to
buy
Izvestia
on
the
newsstand
I
tried
to
subscribe
to
the
paper
only
to
be
told
that
I
could
not
expect
delivery
until
the
following
year.
Instead
I
was
offered
Pravda,
which
is
rarely
sold
out
on
the
counters.
This
great
demand
for
certain papers
over
others
was
surprising,
although
it
should
not
have
been.
An
a-Marxian
law
governs newspaper
sales
which
has
world-wide
application.
As
is
the
case
with
other
hallowed
institutions
there
may
be no
perfect paper, but
some
are
more
readable
than
others.
To
Western
eyes
there
is
little
difference
between
Pravda
and
Izvestia,
given
the
ever-present
party
restrictions
over content,
but
for
Soviet
citizens
they
are
no
longer
interchangeable.
Unfortunately
no
Western
study
of
the
Soviet
press
has
so
far
dealt
with
the
impact
of
this
very
important
media
on
its
public,
and
with
the
personalities
involved
in
the
political
and
journalistic
world
who
shape
its
format.
(Admittedly
this
is
a
difficult
task.)
Instead
authors
tend
to
focus
on
the
formalistic
character
of
the
Communist
press,
stressing
content,
propaganda
functions, and
censorship
of
which
the
informed
reader
is
already aware.
Mr. Buzek's
effort
in
this
direction
is
no
exception.
The
first
eleven
chapters
deal
with
formalistic
aspects
of
the
Soviet
and
Eastern
European
press
which
are
systematically
presented,
well
documented
and
will
serve
as
useful
reference
material.
The
last three chapters
are
his
best
when he
describes
the
workings of
TASS
and
Novosti,
the
two
Soviet
news
agencies, how
Pravda
in
its
mode
of
operation
differs
from
a
Western
paper,
and
the
status
of
journalism as
a
pro-
fession.
Given
the
author's
unusual
background
as
an
employee
of
the
Czech
news
agency
from
1950
to
1961,
a
rendition
peppered with
per-
sonal
reminiscences and
impressions
would
have
brought
the
Communist
press
to
life. Theodore
Kruglak's
The
Two
Faces
of
TASS
still
remains
the
sprightliest
treatment
of
this
subject.
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